More coronavirus testing must be available at Schiphol Airport: MP's
Members of Parliament in both the ruling coalition and the opposition said they were pushing the Cabinet to expand the hours when coronavirus testing is offered at Schiphol Airport. The test facility is only able to handle about 20 percent of passengers arriving from higher risk areas given a code orange or code red designation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to broadcaster NOS.
The RIVM said that 867 people who tested positive for the virus last week did so within 14 days of visiting another country. The top destinations were Spain (278) and France (161), two of the countries named in new travel warnings from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Many of the flights from those countries, and others, land at Schiphol Airport outside of the 6 a.m to 6 p.m. window where people can get tested for the novel coronavirus at the airport. "The virus does not keep to office hours," said GroenLinks MP Suzanne Kröger to broadcaster NOS. She had the support of Parliamentarians from her own party, and from the SP, PvdA, PvdD, SGP, Denk, 50Plus and the Van Kooten-Arissen splinter group. Coalition parties D66, CDA and ChristenUnie were also pushing for an expansion of Schiphol test capacity.
After two straight weeks of falling coronavirus infection figures, this week the RIVM has revealed 1,560 new positive test results including 571 on Wednesday. That is about 2.5 percent higher than last week.
The agency said that 38 people have been hospitalized with Covid-19 between Sunday and Tuesday, with seven entering intensive care. Total Covid-19 patients being cared for on Wednesday remained the same compared to Tuesday, with 38 in intensive care and 120 outside of intensive care.
Some 3,030 people in the Netherland with the coronavirus disease have entered an ICU for treatment since the end of February, with 883 dying in intensive care. Nonprofit organization NICE said that 1,959 were treated and eventually released from the hospital.
